They would list the game on a marketplace like G2A and hope that somebody bought it before the real cardholder noticed and flagged the original purchase. Traditionally, thieves would buy game keys with stolen credit card information. Many indie developers say the site is costing them money and, by extension, threatening their livelihoods.

Capcom's sublime Monster Hunter: World, for instance, costs $34.92 on G2A and $59.99 on Steam at the time of writing. Video games on G2A are typically cheaper than traditional PC vendors such as Steam, Origin and the Microsoft Store. It doesn't sell anything directly to consumers, though it's dabbled in the past with initiatives like G2A Deal, which offered Humble Bundle-style packs of games.īy subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy. Like eBay, G2A is primarily a platform operator. Other sites such as CDKeys and Kinguin offer a similar service, but G2A claims to be the biggest with roughly one million copies sold each month. Three years later, the company pivoted and launched G2A Marketplace, a platform that lets anyone buy and sell 'used' video games online. The company was founded in 2010 as a traditional online game store. Why are smaller studios so vexed with G2A? And how are people able to both obtain and sell illegitimate keys? For a full explanation, read on. 'By allowing anyone to sell illegitimate keys for their games online, with incredible ease, and no ramifications or checks.' At the time of writing, more than 5,000 developers and players have signed the petition. 'G2A's platform hurts indie devs time and time again,' the description reads. Mike Rose, founder of game publisher No More Robots, launched a petition earlier this month that calls on the company to remove all independent games from its platform. Once again, G2A is being forced to defend its marketplace for digital video game codes and keys.

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